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SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT 



CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE- 



Wtfvu^ttx ^ttdctg ai J^utiqttitg; 



Adopted Feb. 13, 1875 ; 

Amended May 4, 1875 ; Revised Jan. 2, 1877 ; 

Amended June 3, 1879 ; 

together with the 




WORCESTER : 
PUBLISHED BV THE SOCIETY, 

1879. 

u. s. A. cm. 






, jJo^CJL-i^': 



CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE- 



^^ntnin 5ocwt]r uf J^utiquitg; 



Adopted Feb. 13, 1875 ; 

Amended May 4, 1875 ; Revised Jan. 2, 1877 ; 

Amended June 3, 1879 ; 



//-;£- 



together with the 



(*^ctrtifiate of ^huorporjttion. 





WORCESTER : 
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY, 

1879. 
u. s. A. cm. 



V7^ 



^%\\tm isiaipta mnnet." 



WORCESTER : 

PRESS OF CLAKK JILLSON, 
1879. 

u. s. A. cm. 



[No. 645.] 



^( it huoiVU, That whereas Samuel Elias Staples, Clark Jillson, 
P^Uery B. Crane, Daniel Seagrave, Franklin Pierce Rice, James 
Andrew vSmith, Albert Altbnzo Lovell and Albert Tyler, have 
associated themselves with the intention of forming a corporation 
under the name of (i]\( '(VDVCCi&tCV Society cf S^ntiCjUitl!, for the 
purpose of cultivating and encouraging among its members a \o\e 
and admiration for anti(|uarian research and archjcological sci- 
ence ; and so far as practicable, to rescue from oblivion any his- 
torical matter that might otherwise be lost ; also, the collection 
and preservation of antiquarian relics of every description, with 
a capital of an amount not yet established, nor divided into 
shares, and have complied with the provisions of the Statutes of 
this Commonwealth in such case made and provided, as appears 
from the certificate of the President, Treasurer, and Directors of 
said corporation duly approved b}' the Commissioner of Corpora- 
tions, and recorded in this ofHce : 

%WC, (TUfVCfovC, I Ilenry li. Peirce. Secretary of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, do ]ierel)y certify, that said S. E. Sta- 
ples, C. Jillson, p]. 15. Crane, 1). Seagrave. F. P. Pice, J. A. 
Smith, A. A. Lovell and A. Tyler, their associates and succes- 
sors, are legally organized and established as and are hereby made 
an existing corporation, under the name of The Worcester So- 
ciety of Antiquity, with the powers, rights and privileges, and 
subject to the limitations, duties and restrictions, which b}' law 
appertain thereto. 

^'itUC,$',5i' niy otiicial signature hereunto subscribed, 

(l. s.) and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

hereunto attixed this twenty-second day of ^Nlarch. in 

the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 

seventj'-seven. 

fiENRY B. PEIRCE, 

Secretary of the Commonwealth. 



CONSTITUTION 

(As amended June 3, 1879.) 



v^RTlCLE I. 

NAME. 

This Society sliall be called The Wokcester Society of 
ANTiurnv. 



ARTICLE II. 
OBJECT. 

The purposes of this Society shall be : 

1. To cultivate and encourage among its members a love and 
admiration for antiquarian research and archtrological science ; 
and, so far as possible, to rescue from oblivion any historical 
matter that might otherwise be lost. 

2. The collection and preservation of antique relies of every 
description, 



ARTICLE III. 

OFFICERS. 

The officers of this Society shall consist of a President, two 
Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian. Each otti- 
cer shall be elected by ballot, and only one otticer shall be ballot- 
ed for at the same time. A majority of the ballots shall be sutfi- 
cient to elect. The}' shall hold office for the term of one year, 
•and until their successors are chosen. 

ARTICLE IV. 

DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 

1. President. It shall be the duty of the President to preside 
at all meetings, when present. In his absence the First Vice 
President shall preside ; in the absence of the latter, the Second 
Vice President shall preside ; and in the absence of all three, a 
President pro tevi. shall be chosen. 

2. Secretary. It shall be the dut}' of the Secretary to keep a 
record of all meetings of the Society in a book provided for that 
purpose ; to issue all notices of meetings, with the time and place 
of same ; to conduct the general correspondence of the Society ; 
shall notify all persons of their election as members of the Soci- 
ety ; shall notily all members elected to office who were not pres- 
ent at the time of their election, within ten days thereafter ; and 
at the expiration of his term of office shall turn over to his suc- 
cessor all books and papers in his possession belonging to the 
Society. 

3. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be sole custodian of the 



funds of the Society, aud of all propert}- or titles to propert}-, 
real or personal, belonging to the Societ}-, except such as is other- 
wise provided for. He shall assess and collect all dues and taxes 
voted by the Society, receive any legacies bequeathed or dona- 
tions made to its funds ; shall disburse the moneys so received 
aud collected, on a written order signed by the President and 
Secretary', but not otherwise. He shall keep in a book provided 
for the purpose a true account of all receipts and disbursements ; 
shall submit the same to the inspection of any member when the 
request is made ; shall submit in writing a report of all his re- 
ceipts and disbursements for the year, and exhibit his vouchers 
for the same at each annual meeting ; shall furnish a bond for 
the faithful discharge of his duties, whenever the Societ}', by a 
vote, may so direct ; and shall, at the expiration of his term of 
office, place in the hands of his successor all books papers and 
other property in his possession belonging to the Society. 

4. IJbniriai). The Librarian shall be the sole custodian of 
books, pamphlets, relics, coins, medals, engravings and other 
collections belonging to the Society ; shall catalogue the same in 
a book kept for the purpose ; shall have the care of the entire 
collection, together with the room in which they are kept, aud 
shall report the condition o.f the same at each annual meeting. 

ARTICLE V. 

COMMITTEES. 

1 . The President, First and Second Vice Presidents, Secretary 
and Treasurer shall constitute a committee of five, to be known 
as the Executive committee, who shall have in charge the general 
interest of the Society ; shall prepare for press and have the care 



of all publications of the Society-, unless by a vote the Society see 
fit, when desirable, to elect a special committee for that purpose ; 
maj' prepare and present business ; maj' solicit and secure, when 
practicable, donations to the Societ3''s funds, or collections ; shall 
see that the orders of the Societ}' are promptly carried out, and 
that the provisions of this Constitution are studitjiisly maintained. 

2. This Society" shall, at its annual meeting in January, 1877, 
elect by ballot three persons — one to serve for one year, one for 
two 3'ears, and one for three years — and one for three 3ears at 
each annual meeting succeeding — who shall be called the Stand- 
ing Committee on Nominations. It shall be their dut}' to exam- 
ine the qualifications of every person proposed for membership, 
and to put in nomination such persons as the}' in their judgment 
think will promote the interests of the Society. Other Commit- 
tees ma}' be chosen, as occasion requires, but all committees shall 
report their doings in writing. 

ARTICLE VI. 

MEMBERS. 

1. The name and qualifications for membership of any person 
of good moral character, having an interest in the objects of this 
Society, may be presented at any meeting thereof and referred 
to the Standing Committee on Nominations ; and such person 
may, at the next regular meeting, on nomination by said com- 
mittee, be elected by a two-thirds ballot of those present. But 
no person shall be considered a member of this Societ}' until he 
has signed the Constitution and paid into the Treasury the sum 
of two dollars. 



ARTICLE VII. " 
HONORARY AND CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. 

Honoraiy and Corresponding members may be proposed and 
elected in the same manner as prescribed for active members ; 
but corresponding members shall not be residents of the city of 
Worcester, 

AKTK LE VIII. 

DUTIES OF MEMBERS. 

It shall be the dutj' of each member to till any otlice or perform 
any service to which he ma}' be elected or appointed ; to endeav- 
or to secure for the Societ}' whatever he can that will add to the 
number or value of its collections ; to bring it to the knowledge 
and consideraiiou of persons of similar tastes and ])ursuits ; to 
propose for membership such persons as are known to be inter- 
ested in its work. 

2. It shall be the dut}' of Honorary- and Corresponding mem- 
bers to endeavor to secure articles for its collection, and to inter- 
est themselves for its honor and prosperity-. Honorary members 
are expected to correspond with the Societ}' at least once a 3-ear ; 
Corresponding members, twice a year, and l»oth Honorary and 
Corresponding members shall l)e entitled to all the privileges of 
active members, except the right to vote or hold office, and shall 
be exempt from the admission fee and all assessments. 

ARTICLE IX. 

MEETINGS. 

The annual meeting for the election of officers and the trans- 
action of other business, shall l)e held on the tirst Tuesday in 



1(1 

December of each 3'eiir, at which time the several annual rejxjrts 
from oflicers and departments shall be submitted to the Society. 
The newl}' elected officers shall not, however, assume their offi- 
cial duties until the first Tuesday in the month of January follow- 
ing. The other regular meetings shall be held on the first Tues- 
day of each of the remaining months in the year, excei>ting Au- 
gust. Special meetings may Ite called Ity the I'resident, or u[)on 
the written request of any three meml)ers of the Society. Five 
meml)ers shall constitute a (juorum for the transaction of business. 

ARTICLE X. 

ASSESSMENTS AND DlSBUIlSi^MEXTS. 

1. Tax. The Society may at any regular meeting, by a vote, 
assess a tax upcni its members, not exceetling one dollar y*py cap- 
ita; but at any annual meeting the Society may assess such sum 
as may be needed for carrying on the affairs of the Society. 

"2. Life Meinber.'<hij). Any member who shall at any one time 
pay into the treasury the sum of twenty-five dollars shall l)e a life 
member, and shall thereaftei' be exem})! from all assessments. 

3. Chiiiiis. All claims against the Society shall l)e ap[)roved 
by the member contraeting the same, and paid by the Treasurer, 
on a written order signed by the President and Secretary. 

ARTICLE XI. 

FAILURES, AVITHDRAWALS, EXPULSIONS. 

1. Any member who for two consecutive years shall fail to i)ay 
any assessment made in accordance with the provisions of this 
Constitution, and shall give no satisfactory reason therefor, shall 
cease to be a member of the Society, and the Treasurer shall 
notify the Secretary, who shall make record of the fact. 



LBJL'04 



11 

Wltlidnnriih. Any inombei' may withdraw from the Societ}' 
by giving notice of his intention to tlie .Secretary and paj'ing all 
assessments dne at the time of giving such notice, and the Sec- 
retary shall make record of the fact. 

;>. E.rj)a/sioii.s. Any member may, for any breach of trust or 
malfeasance in otlice, or ibr any other cause, be ex})elled from 
the Society by a vote of two-thirds of those present at any reg- 
uhir meeting ; Pron'ded, that tlie number present shall not be 
less than a majoritj' of tlie whole numl)er of active members. — 
But no member shall be expelled from the Society without tirst 
having an opportunity to explain his case at some regular meeting. 

ARTICLE XII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Alterations or amendments to the Constitution may be made 
at an}' regular meeting, l)y a two-thirds vote ; provided, that a 
notice of the proposed change has been given in writing at some 
previous meeting. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

On the adoption of the foregoing Constitution, all other articles 
l)revioush" used for the government of this Society are hereb}' 
repealed. 




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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



I I 11 1 III II I 11 1 1 1 II I II 

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014 110 989 3 O 



